Wednesday, December 2
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, grown inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Romans
8:18-24
The whole of
creation groans together in the pains of childbirth. When we survey our world, where do we hear it groaning?
Paul insists these groans lead not to
death but to new life in Christ. This is
the hope in which we are saved,
for which we wait in patience. What difference does it make if today you
reframe present suffering as birth pangs?
What new life is God ushering into the world? Write your reflection on the back side of
this card.
Prayer:
God of new life, You send Your Son to usher in redemption. Nothing can separate us from Your love. We confess that our waiting for suffering to end is not always marked by patience or hope. Despair creeps into our consciousness and we doubt that creation can survive, let alone thrive. Send Your Spirit to intercede so that we might live in and act out of the hope of our faith. AMEN
Activity:
Go, look at yourself in the mirror. No, seriously. Go look. I’ll wait….. What did you see? I see a child of God, precious and loved, cared for and redeemed by God’s amazing grace in the gift of Jesus Christ.
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